THURSDAY, Oct. 1, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Polypharmacy involving prescription medications affected more than one-third of older adults in 2021 to 2023, according to a research letter published online Sept. 24 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Dima Mazen Qato, Pharm.D., Ph.D., from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues estimated changes in the use and concurrent use of prescription and over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements in the United States between 2015 to 2016 and 2021 to 2023. The analysis included data from 4,940 participants aged 62 to 85 years in waves 3 and 4 of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project.
The researchers found that use of prescription medications (84.2 versus 84.8 percent) and use of dietary supplements (65.6 versus 66.8 percent) were similar for 2015 to 2016 versus 2021 to 2023. However, use of over-the-counter medications declined (60.1 versus 55.1 percent) while polypharmacy involving prescription medications (31.0 versus 35.7 percent) and dietary supplements (12.6 versus 16.7 percent) increased. There was a decline in use of potentially major interacting drug regimens or drug-drug interactions (25.7 versus 22.3 percent), driven by declines in use of interacting regimens of prescription medications (24.5 versus 21.9 percent). Most therapeutic classes involved in interacting regimens tied to potentially major drug-drug interactions remained unchanged during the study period, the most common of which were antidepressants (7.21 percent), statins (5.23 percent), and antiplatelet therapy (4.47 percent) in 2021 to 2023. However, there were declines in the use of interacting regimens involving opioid analgesics (5.56 versus 4.04 percent) and benzodiazepines (2.05 versus 0.87 percent), as well as an increase in the use of interacting regimens involving muscle relaxants (1.35 versus 2.49 percent).
"These findings underscore the need for continuing efforts to improve medication safety among older adults," Qato said in a statement. "Efforts to reduce polypharmacy and harmful drug interactions should focus on commonly used interacting regimens, particularly those involving antidepressants."
